Domestic appliance latch



July 19, 1966 s m 3,261,628

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE LATCH Filed Dec. 26, 1963 INVENTOR. Keith K. K es/ingHis Af/orne y United States Patent 3,261,628 DOMESTIC APPLIANCE LATCHKeith K. Kesling, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation,Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 26, 1963, Ser. No.333,402 9 Claims. (Cl. 292-70) This invention relates to door latchesand more particularly to friction-type door latches.

An object of the present invention is to improve fric tion-type doorlatches by making the catch portions thereof fastenable to door membersor the like without the need for welds, screws, or other like fasteningelements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a selfcontainedfastenerless door latch assembly that is comprised of an extremely smallnumber of economical individual parts that lend themselves to massproduction and quick assembly in a domestic appliance or the like forreleasably holding a door thereon in a closed position.

A still further object of the present invention is to improvefriction-type door latches by the provision therein of a spring catchelement that cooperates with a ferrule for securing the spring within adoor or the like against removal therefrom and wherein the ferrule andspring catch are constructed and arranged to permit adjustable movementof the spring element with respect to a strike element on a fixedsupporting element such as a cabinet to thereby compensate for slightvariations in strike locations with respect to the door element or thelike.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention isclearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a domestic cabinet structureincluding the friction latch of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view in horizontal section taken along the line22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in vertical section taken along the line 33 of FIGURE2;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view partially broken away of a supportingferrule used in the catch portion of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, a domestic appliance is illustrated inFIGURE 1 as comprising an outer cabinet 12 having an access opening 14therein closed by a door 16 having one side edge thereof hingedlyconnected to the front wall of the outer cabinet 12. On the oppositeside of door 16 is a handle 17 for moving the door into opened andclosed positions. While the domestic appliance is illustrated as being aclothes dryer structure, it will be appreciated that the presentinvention will be equally suited for use in other arrangements where itis desired to releasably hold a first element with respect to a secondelement.

More specifically with reference to the illustrated domestic appliance10, the door 16 is releasably held with respect to the cabinet 12 forclosing the access opening 14 therein by an improved friction-type doorlatch assembly 18 best illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 as including astrike element 20 having one end thereof including an opening 22therethrough inserted into an opening 24 formed by a bent sheet metalportion 26 of the outer cabinet 12. The inserted end of the strikeelement 20 is secured to a sheet metal portion 28 of one of the sidewalls of the outer cabinet 12 by suitable fastening meansrepresentatively illustrated as including a screw element 30. In orderto assure a desired lateral location of the 3,261,628 Patented July 19,1966 "ice strike element 20 with respect to the side walls of outercabinet 12, suitable spacers 32 may be inserted as desired betweenportion 28 and strike 20.

The strike element 20 further includes an offset end portion 34 directedoutwardly of the cabinet into engagement with a catch assembly 36 indoor 16 when the door is closed. In the illustrated embodiment of theinvention, the door 16 has a seal 37 supported thereon that engages thesheet metal portion 26 of cabinet 12 when the door is closed to preventthe escape of heated air from the drying cavity. The seal 37, moreparticularly, is held in tight sealing engagement with the sheet metalportion 26 by an improved interlocking relationship between the strikeelement 20 with the catch assembly 36.

The catch assembly 36 in accordance with certain principles of thepresent invention includes component parts that eliminate the need forfastening means for holding the assembly 36 within the door 16 and whichare further characterized as extremely economical to manufacture andquickly insertable in place in a door or the like. More particularly,the catch assembly 36 includes a generally reetangularly shaped tubularferrule element 40 best illustrated in FIGURE 4 as including anoutwardly directed peripheral flange 42 and slots 44, 46 in opposite endwall portions of an insertable end portion 48. The ferrule 40 isinserted into an opening 50 through the outer wall of door 16 so thatthe flange 42 thereon engages the door around opening 50 as bestillustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. The catch 36 further includes a springclip element 52 having end portions 54 and 56 that are joined by a bentspring segment 58 including inwardly turned portions 60, 62 that arespring biased toward one another. The spring clip 52 is inserted intothe opening 50 and through the ferrule 40 to extend into the door 16 anappreciable distance corresponding substantially to the length of theoutwardly directed end 34 of strike element 20 and has the ends 54, 56thereof directed through slots 44, 46 in ferrule 40 for supporting theclip 52 within the door 16. The ends 54, 56 on clip 52 in conjunctionwith the flange 42 on ferrule 40 further serve to interlockingly connectthe catch assembly 36 on the outer wall of door 16 around the opening 50therein to prevent removal of the catch 36 therefrom once the clip 52 isin place.

By virtue of the aforementioned strike and catch assemblies 20, 36, whenthe door 16 is moved to its closed position the end 34 of strike 20 willenter through the ferrule 40 into the clip 52 where the inwardlydirected portion 60, 62 thereon will be first deflected outwardly of thestrike 20 and then will be biased into the notches on either sidethereof to releasably hold the door against the cabinet so as to causethe seal element 37 to be pressed therebetween in sealing engagementwith the sheet metal portion 26. The spring 52 is constructed andarranged to draw door 16 longitudinally of strike 20 and toward cabinet12 even though seal 37 becomes permanently set or deformed into aflatter configuration following a period of high temperature operationor the like.

The relationship between the clip and the ferrule permits relativelyfree movement of the clip 52 with respect to the strike 20 to allow theinwardly directed portion 60, 62 thereon to uniformly bias againstopposite sides of the strike when it is fully inserted into the catchassembly 36. Furthermore, the adjustable movement of the clip 52 withrespect to the fixed ferrule 40 compensates for misalignment of thestrike element that might occur during mass production assembly thereof.

It Will be appreciated from the above-described embodiment that theinventive friction-type door latch is unusually economical, quicklyassembled and suitable for association with domestic appliances or anyother arrangements requiring a yielda-ble, positive, but releasable,interlocking latch assembly.

- While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A latch construction for holding a first member with respect to asecond member comprising a strike element, means for securing saidstrike element to one of the members, a tubular element adapted to beinserted into the other of said members having side openings therein,said tubular element having a peripheral flange portion on one endthereof formed continuously about said tubular element for reinforcingsaid element and to guide said strike element with respect to theinterior of said tubular element, said continuously formed flangeoverlying a first surface on the other member and being located injuxtaposition therewith, a separate spring clip element including spacedapart leg portions compressible for insertion into said tubular element,tab portions on the ends of said spaced apart legs directed through saidtubular element side openings to engage another surface of the othermember and in conjunction with said peripheral flange portion serving tosecure said tubular element and clip element on the other of themembers, said talb portions being relatively movable within said tubularelement side openings, said clip element having inwardly turned portionsspring biased toward one another for releasably engaging said strikeelement for holding the members together.

2. In the combination of claim 1, said tab portions and said tubularelement flange portion coacting to serve as the sole means for securingsaid tubular element against separation from the other member.

3. In the combination of claim 1, said tab serving as the sole means forfastening of said clip element to said tubular element.

4. In the combination of claim 1, said tab portions being freelyshiftable in at least one direction within said tubular member tocompensate for variations in alignment between said clip and said strikeelement, said inwardly turned portions on said clip adjusting touniformly bear against opposite sides of said strike element when inreleasable engagement therewith.

5. A latch construction for holding a first member with r'espect to asecond member comprising first and second co-acting means frictionallyengaging one another, one of said co-acting means including a tubularsupporting element adapted to be mounted on one of the members, saidtubular support element including a continuous reinforcing fiange aroundone end thereof adapted to be located in juxtaposition with a surface onone of the members, means forming openings in said tubular supportingmember, spring means supported by said tubular supporting memberincluding spaced apart leg members having tab portions thereon directedthrough said tubular supporting member openings for engagement with saidtubular supporting member and adapted to engage another surface of saidone of the members, said flange on said tubular supporting elementcooperating with said tab portions for securing said supporting elementto said one of the members, said spring means including inwardly turnedportions spring biased toward one another for engaging the other of saidco-acting means to hold the first and second members together.

6. In the combination of claim 5, said co-acting tab portions andtubular supporting member flange means serving as the sole m'eans forsecuring said one of said co-acting means on the one member.

7. In the combination of claim 5, said openings in said tubular elementand said tab portions having sufficient clearance therebetween to allowrelatively free movement therebetween for compensating for variations inthe location of said other co-acting means with respect to said tubularsupporting member.

8. A latch assembly comprising a tubular supporting element adapted tobe inserted into a first member, said tubular supporting element havinga length substantially greater than its width and including a peripheralflange portion on one end thereof for limiting insertion thereof intothe first member, means forming openings in said tubular supportingelement spaced from said peripheral flanged portion, a spring cliphaving a pair of spaced tab portions th'ereon joined by a curved springsegment, said spring clip being compressible for insertion into saidtubular supporting element, said tab portions being insertible into saidopenings in said tubular supporting member for supporting said springclip thereon, said tab portions and peripheral flange portions inconjunction serving as the sole means for fastening said tubularsupporting element to the first member, a strike element adapted to beconnected to another member, said strike element having notches in theopposite sides thereof, said clip having inwardly turned portions springbiased toward one another adapted to be received in said strike elementnotches for releasably holding said strike element within said clip forholding the first and other member together.

9. In the combination of claim 8, said spring clip b'eing laterallyshiftable with respect to said tubular element for compensating formisalignment of said strike element.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,723,940 10/1929 Larson 29276 2,151,284 3/ 1939 Tinnerman 29217 2,342,832 2/ 1944Borchers 29217 2,652,275 9/ 1953 Tinnerman 29217 2,707,013 4/1955 Floraet a1 -80 2,733,944 3/1956 Chvosta 29217 PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, PrimaryExaminer.

J. R. MOSES, Assistant Examiner.

